by Bella Knight
Ace called Henry for help. They spent a few more hours there, learning all about the business. Then, they packed up to go. Inola came by with a sidecar, which she took off and attached to Ace’s bike. Ace paid both Inola and Kaye, loaded up the dogs, and headed to Lake Mead for a day of sun and sand. Some of the club members met them, Ghost and Bonnie, Alicia, Inola, Henry, and a few more. They swam in the lake, drank colas and flavored water, and had a cookout. They relaxed, listened to rock, then came back with the dogs late in the night.
Ace and Lily woke up far too early. The boys were smashing into each other with a 3D driving game. They made loud noises when one of them hit another on the virtual track.
Ace opened one eye. “Kill them for me, please,” he said.
“They’re going back in less than a week,” Lily said. “Then you’re going to be moping about, missing them.”
“I don’t mope,” said Ace.
“Prove it,” said Lily, and kissed him. She put her hands under his shirt and ran her fingernails down his back.
“You’re my new alarm clock,” said Ace, grabbing the back of her neck and kissing her.
She kissed him back and dug in her nails. He moaned and tried to remember if he’d locked the bedroom door when he came in the night before. He didn’t want to scar the boys for life. He heard another yell and figured he had at least until they finished the game or ran out of cola or peanut M&Ms, whichever came first. He lost the thought, then all thoughts, as Ivy pulled off his shirt, then her own camisole, her breasts spilling into his hands. He touched, kissed, and sucked her breasts until she arched her back.
She flipped him on his back, and he went crazy kissing her ear and the side of her neck. She cried out into his mouth, then reached into his shorts. She grabbed his erection, clawing slightly at his balls, then at the tip of his penis. He arched his back, trying to hold in his groan. She slid her other hand down his side.
Lily grabbed her phone, put on Joss Stone’s Fell In Love With a Boy. She took a condom out of the drawer in the side table, ripped her condom open with her teeth, slid it on, and mounted him. She took her time riding him, going deep, and clawed the surface of his skin, then letting go, from his shoulders to his buttocks. He held her hips, arching his back. Her eyes slid into smoky, then fierce, fire in her eyes. He stroked her short black hair, then drew her down for a kiss. He groaned into her mouth, straining, as he came. She came right afterward, sliding her fingernails down his cheek, careful not to break the skin. They laid on each other, huffing and puffing.
They put their clothes on, and Ace took a shower first, then Lily. Breakfast was French toast with bacon, fruit, and the boys eating like vacuums.
“How the hell are you guys up so early?” he asked.
Pavel hung his head. “I wanted to play game. I wake up Keiran.”
“We were loud,” said Keiran. “Sorry.”
Ace pretended to sneeze, saying, “Bullshit!” under his breath. They all laughed. The boys cleaned up, then Ace said, “Let’s walk the dogs.”
“Already done,” said Keiran.
Lily pretended to be shocked, letting her jaw drop. Keiran laughed.
“Saddle up! It’s time to go to the house,” said Ace. They all went for their tool belts.
The second coat of paint was already on, but there was more work to be done. The carpets came up, revealing hardwood floors, while the bathrooms were being finished. The shower and bath installed and tiled. Lily and the boys split up and helped the contractor in each bathroom. The sinks, medicine cabinets, and toilets went in. Ace bought a sander, and they all took turns sanding the floors. They broke for lunch, with mouth-watering barbecue sandwiches, chips, and sodas.
The office needed furniture, and they went to a used furniture store. They also needed bunk beds for the boys. They were stunned to find pod beds, which included individual shelves, lights, and power cords. They were delighted with the find. They also bought corner desks, one for each corner. The office got double metal-and-glass desks and amazing office chairs. They ordered delivery for later in the week.
Callie showed up and helped finished sanding the floors. They swept carefully, then dust-mopped the floor. They opened cans of polyurethane, and they split up, slowly doing each room, from the farthest out and backward. They finished, working their way toward the door. They sealed the last can and rinsed the paint rollers in the water hose in the side yard.
Callie took the boys to Sonic, where they ordered nearly everything on the menu.
“You must be excited about school. When are you going back?” asked Callie.
“Sunday,” said Pavel. “We take computer courses. We decide on business course, too. Our business must be ready.”
“What business?” asked Callie.
“We raise and train service dogs,” said Keiran.
“That’s awesome,” said Callie. “Ivy’s daughter has autism. I’m sure her school would love dogs that work with autistic kids.”
“Ivy has a daughter?” asked Pavel, stunned. “Where is she?”
“She’s in a special school for autistic kids,” said Callie. “We hope to visit her soon.”
“Whoa,” said Keiran. “That must be hard for her. She’s great with Gracie.”
“Yeah,” said Callie. “She is.” She took the boys to the clubhouse, where the club members talked to them and told them stories.
Callie went out to see Bonnie watching Ghost welding something that looked like a curved metal box. Callie sidled up beside Bonnie.
“Woman throws a perfect bead,” said Bonnie. “She’s a pleasure to watch.”
Ghost finished her bead and flipped open her visor. She smiled. “You be makin’ my head so big, I do not get trew the doah.” Bonnie snorted. Ghost went back to her weld.
“What you making?” asked Callie.
“We found out we can make special dog boxes, kinda like saddlebags for dogs. The dogs like them, but it don’t work for large ones. Need a sidecar for the big ones. We’re gonna do that, too, buy them and put the rings in for the dog harnesses. Works if you got stuff you wanna put in a sidecar, or if you got a kid or old person you wanna ride with, too.”
Bonnie smiled. “Alicia, Ghost and I set up our own business yesterday, the Biker Pooch Saddlebag. We can do them as boxes for the back, or as a special side saddlebags for small dogs. Gonna sell goggles and little helmets and harnesses for ‘em, too. Got two women on the res itching to design stuff for different breeds.”
“Cool,” said Callie. “If I had money, I’d invest in your business.”
“Heard you be goin’ to school,” said Alicia, coming up beside Bonnie. She handed out bottles of cherry water to the women.
“Thanks,” said Callie. “Yeah, I want to teach in there, early childhood education.” She hooked her thumb behind her to point to the clubhouse.
“Everyone keeps marrying,” said Alicia. “We gonna need you teachin.’”
“Hope so,” said Callie.
“We gonna have to get a separate school building,” said Alicia. “Or, move the picnic tables over and double the size of the main house.”
“Probably do the second one,” said Bonnie. “In fact, we kinda need to start on it now. There’s a concrete pad there already, so building won’t be hard.”
She took out her phone, sent a text.
“I let Ivy and Henry know about it. Someone needs to make an architectural drawing, probably Rico, and get it to the planning board. We can make one big room now, and get it divided up into classrooms later.”
Callie nodded. “Sounds good,” she said.
Ghost finished and put away her welding equipment. “Hey, girl,” she said to Callie, “how that arm doing?”
“Not hurting, but itches,” said Callie. “I have two more weeks in this thing, but I want it off now.”
“Hear that,” said Ghost, and came over and hugged her. “Glad you and Ivy are together. Girl needed someone to fly with her.”
Alicia turned shining
eyes on Ghost. “Hey, baby. You want to work on the three-wheeler wit me?”
Ghost went over, looked into Alicia’s eyes, and kissed her. “I do whatever you want, baby.” They went toward a cherry-red three-wheeler. “She gonna purr,” said Ghost. They got started.
Bonnie smiled. “I introduced them,” she said. “Now, if I can get that lazy Baby to do something, we’ll be okay.”
“Where is she? How’s she doing?”
“Her face is healing,” said Bonnie. “She’s at home, getting ready to take her GED, buying stuff online for her trailer. She takes a lot of naps. Her reaction is weird. Both Ghost and Alicia were, well, ghosts. She’s got no nightmares, she’s not jumpy. No PTSD at all. Someone worked her over good, and she’s not reacting.”
“Maybe,” said Callie, “It’s completely normal for her.”
Bonnie shuddered. “It would explain her flat affect. That’s normal for her.”
“Or, she’s a sociopath,” said Callie.
“Maybe,” said Bonnie, shuddering. “Anyhoo, when she gets that trailer all perfect, hung with rich fabrics and Chinese, red, spray-painted furniture, she’ll get to be at the Palomino. Those girls there will take care of her.”
“Ivy hasn’t talked about it much,” said Callie.
“She did what she had to do for her daughter,” said Bonnie. “Baby does it only for herself.”
Callie felt a cold hand run down her back. That could have been me, she realized. Had she been unable to find a job, or had to go on welfare. She thought, once again, about Ivy, and the million things she did for Callie and Grace. Gotta keep that woman, she thought.
She went back in, and learned teaching as a mentor from Henry. He was always there, ready for a word, a question, to explain a project, or to talk about frogs or trees or birds or lizards. Or even to help a child choose a book. She stood in the door and just watched. I want to be Henry when I grow up, she realized.
She came in when Mrs. Fa arrived, and the kids all stopped, stretched, and went over to the horseshoe table. Mrs. Fa set up the slide show, and they reviewed the last day’s characters before launching into the next one. They opened their apps, and Mrs. Fa went around helping them as they quizzed each other. They learned how to order a drink, and they learned the names of some beverages.
She helped serve dinner, and she was gratified to watch the kids fall on them like wolves. Mrs. Fa declined hers and gave it to Callie.
“You make beautiful food,” she said. “Make more.” Callie thanked the woman.
Grace beamed at her mom, and Callie felt, just then, that she belonged. She let the warm feeling fill her up.
She read stories to the kids with Henry, all with mock voices included. The kids loved it. Callie took the boys home, annoying them by ruffling their hair, then delighting them by feeding them hamburgers, fries, shakes, and sundaes. She swung home, cleaned the house, did two loads of laundry, walked Daisy, and went back to pick up the girls, who sang girl power songs in the car the whole way back home. Callie was surprised that she knew all the words to Rachael Platten’s Fight Song and Katie Perry’s Roar.
She got the girls showered and dried, hair braided, and into bed. She worked on her early childhood education coursework until Ivy got home. Ivy showered, then crawled into bed with Callie.
“How was your day?” she asked.
“Alicia, Ghost, and Bonnie are starting a business for people who want to ride with their dogs.”
“Gotta invest in that,” said Ivy.
“And I want to be Henry when I grow up,” said Callie.
Ivy laughed. “So do we all!”
Interlude
Ivy, Henry, and Baby went to pick up the trailer in Henry’s truck. They stopped at the fabric store for red, black, and gold satin. They got silk and velvet, and went to the used furniture store for a platform bed, dresser, fake columns, a memory foam mattress, and mirrors. Then the hardware store for spray paint, hooks, grommets, rings, a hammer, a mallet, a cordless screwdriver, a toolbelt, and a door. Baby already had the high-thread-count sheets and soft blankets in red, black, and gold.
They picked up the trailer in Pahrump. Its structure was good. Someone had set it up for camping, with odd, built-in shelves. It was trashed, nicked and bent. They hooked it on the back and headed to the Palomino. They stopped at Sonic along the way and got sliders, fries, and extra drinks. They swung around back, unhooked the trailer, and put it near Ivy’s old trailer, now inhabited by Lissa.
Ivy and Baby super-scrubbed the trailer while Henry replaced the metal door that went out into nothing with a carved wooden door. First, he laid out tarps he found out back, and then he spray-painted the door Chinese red. The ladies finished and washed and sanded the furniture to be spray-painted. The paint dried quickly in the sun, and Henry hung the door.
“Go on,” said Baby. “You-all send me a bill and text it to me. I pay you back right quick.”
“’Kay,” said Ivy, shushing Henry with a quelling gaze. “We’ll head out.”
“Set a timer,” said Henry. “You’re still stiff and sore. Take it easy on yourself.”
“I plan to,” said Baby. Ivy saw that she was clearly lying. They hugged her and left her the drinks, and took off.
Baby hooked portable speakers up to her cell phone, and put on some hot music: Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On, Foreigner’s Urgent, Tone-Loc’s Wild Thing, and George Michael’s I Want Your Sex. She spray-painted her furniture red, black, and gold.
A woman and a man came out of the door and found her putting the caps on her paint. She wiped herself down with wet wipes as if she hadn’t seen them, bending over to make sure there wasn’t paint on her legs.
“Oh. My. God,” said the man, a rasta man with dreads springing out of his head. “Girl, you so fine.”
The lady with him had hair springing out all over her head, black tipped with red. She had a wide body, but it was muscle, not fat.
“You is,” she said. “Didn’t want none o’ dem princesses in there. You strong enough for me?”
Baby said, “You ever make love outside?” She started to pull the plastic off the mattress.
“Lemme do that,” said the woman. “I’m Sheila.”
“I’m Baby,” said Baby.
“T-Man,” said the Rasta man, rushing to help with the plastic on the other side of the bed. “You be slammin,’ girl.”
“You give me three hundred, each,” said Baby, “you be findin’ out just how slammin’ I am.”
“For how long?” asked the woman.
“Hour and a half.”
“Two hours and we give you a tip.”
“Done,” said Baby, holding out her hand. She made the money disappear. “I’ve got sheets in…”
The woman kissed her, devouring her, as Prince’s Kiss came on. She sat on the bed, drawing Baby to her. Her strokes were soft but without hesitation. The man got her short shorts off, leaving on her tank top and cami-bra. He stroked her.
He held a condom in front of her eyes. “No glove, no love,” he said, stroking her back, then tearing off the packet and rolling the packet on his curved penis.
He used his fingers first, getting her wet. He came into her from behind, while Sheila kissed her mouth and neck, and used her knees to hold Baby up. The man took his time, with slow, even strokes. Baby came violently, clenching on him, then he came as well.
T-Man took the condom off and put it in the plastic bag used for trash, with empty spray cans in it. He wiped himself, then Baby, off with wet wipes, while Baby and Sheila continued to kiss. Baby took Sheila’s leggings off, then her panties. She stroked her, and put her fingers inside her. She made her come again and again. T-Man, hard again, put on another condom and slipped into Sheila. Baby kissed and stroked them both. He went hard and fast, and they both came, screaming into each other’s mouths.
They laid, panting, in a heap for a while. Baby got the wet wipes, and they all wiped each other down. Baby disposed of the condom and wiped off her h
ands. She came back with the tray of drinks and got everyone’s underwear on.
She called into the kitchen on her cell phone. “Ky here,” came a beautiful voice, like honey.
“This is Baby, Ivy’s friend. I’m in back; find the red door. We want some little chicken and tomato pizzas like you used to make for Ivy and lots of sodas. And a floor fan; it’s hot out here.”
“We gotta red door?” he asked. “Will do, Baby,” he said. “And welcome to the Palomino Ranch.”
They stopped gasping, and helped her take the bed out. They laid the soft, spongy, red mat on the floor cut to the size of the trailer, and slid the bed back in.
“Girlfriend,” said Ky, when he came back out with the pizzas. “This is gonna be even better than Ivy’s room.” He touched a strand of her hair. “And you are lovely, aren’t you?”
He followed with an assortment of cold sodas in an ice bucket, and he brought a fan in and threaded the cord through the bottom of the door and into the hallway. They dined like kings, eating with their fingers, feeding each other.
The couple helped her hang her swags of cloth from the light in her ceiling, in exchange for her being completely nude. They helped her bring in the dresser and the fake columns to hide them. She filled them up with items from her suitcase. She slid the suitcase in a corner and hid it behind a column.
“What’s that?” asked the woman, pointing toward a silver briefcase.
“You help me shove this trailer up against the side of this house, and plug in the cable, then we’ll have lights, and the air conditioner,” she said, pointing at the portable unit high on a wall. “Then, we can explore the box. For a price.”
They helped her push the trailer up against the door. She ran around the side of the building, finding the door to the carport. She let herself in, ran to the red door, and let them in. She plugged in the power strip herself and shut the door behind her. She turned on the lights then she found the air conditioner controller, and turned it on.